I've been lurking for a little while and have gleaned a ton of information from this site., so I felt it was only right I should 'fess up and let peeps see what I've rustled up for my first build!

There are still some odds and ends to finish off - an insert for the sound-hole and I've got some box corners for the top of the box which I'm not putting on until I'm sure I don't have to open the box again.

But on the whole, I'm pleased with how it's turned out. It's better than I thought I would be able to pull off!

It sounds great, although it does seem to have a ground problem, whereby it hums a bit until you touch a metal component; and when you do you get a tiny pop from the amp if the gain is up. I can't work out what's causing it. I'm pretty sure it's wired correctly and everything is star grounded to the volume pot. It may be something to do with the pickup which is recycled from a very old Hohner strat copy that was my first ever guitar!

Anyway, box is a Romeo Y Julieta, neck is sapele with a blackwood tec fretboard from Chickenbone John (as is the bone nut and various other bits of hardware).

I'm lucky enough to have a rather large laser cutter at work, so I had great fun laser-cutting a plywood fret cutting mitre jig and acrylic fret slotting template inspired by examples shown by members on here. The inlay dots are laser cut from scrap acrylic as well - they work great and sand back nicely.

Learnt a lot from this build that I can apply to the inevitable builds to follow. I bought two of everything before I started this build 'cos I knew I was going to catch the bug, and have now started compiling bits for build number 3!

With access to a laser cutter, I've also started building my own boxes - build number 2 will be for my 7 year old daughter, so I didn't think a cigar box was terribly suitable. Now she can decoupage a box to her own design to be turned into a guitar!

Would love to hear any feedback/advice. One quick question... how do y'all build relief into your necks when not using a truss rod? Do you sand it in or dress the frets to give a little relief?